They're Back
by Molkite
Summary: A known foe returns to the station. Can the crew defeat it in time? Spoilers for a season 5/6 episode.


**Written for an IRL friend.**** Mild language warning nothing spectacular.**

It was a standard day aboard Deep Space Nine, a space station that held such diverse culture and species. Captain Sisko often wondered what would come next, would it be another species they would make first contact with. Or would it be another tradition. As much as he respected and was interested in them, he couldn't keep a track of them all.

"I swear last week I was making a profit on them, now I can't even give them away."

Quark stood behind his service counter talking to a Bajoran male, he wasn't very interested, but he was tanked full of enough alcohol to make the Ferengi's drivel bearable. And he wasn't about to say no to another drink on the house. He straightened when Sisko patted his shoulder and smiled.

"Oh captain I didn't see you there." Quark tucked something under the counter and moved to pour him a drink. Sisko strained but he couldn't see what Quark had just stashed, and he didn't want to pry.

"I'm not here to drink I'm just doing some rounds checking all is in order."

"Oh… Okay well… Everything is fine here!"

Sisko paused for a moment and raised an eyebrow, Quark hadn't tried to sell him anything or press a drink on him. But he thought little more of it, took one last lingering glance around the bar, everyone seemed relaxed enough. Slowly he turned and left.

Now he came to think of it, the station was a little quiet this morning, on edge perhaps. He shook it off, maybe he had just had a bad nights sleep?

That was until he came across Lieutenant Whorf.

"Good morning Captain."

"Good morning Whorf… You look agitated this morning is something on your mind?"

Whorf straightened his uniform and cleared his throat. "There is nothing sir."

"Okay then."

Sisko nodded and watched the Klingon walk away. He was the second person to be acting very strangely this morning. Maybe there had been something in the replicator last night. Sisko headed for the sickbay, if something had gone wrong last night. The stations doctor would be the first to know.

"Morning Doctor."

"Good morning Captain!"

Bashir quickly rounded a plastic containment chamber and stood between it and the captain. He smiled broadly and folded his arms in front of his chest. He looked unusually flustered, much like Whorf had.

"Can I get you anything? Are you hurt?" Bashir insisted.

"No I'm fine Doctor just checking all is in order. Have you noticed anything odd about the crew recently? Has anyone been coming in with strange ailments?"

Sisko walked slowly around the doctor who matched his movements. Rounding the containment chamber, Bashir was just large enough to shield it from his view and this odd behaviour was peaking his interest.

"Are you sure there's nothing you want to tell me?"

"Undoubtedly sir, I have a lot of work to do so if you don't-"

Bashir was swept out of the way, Sisko gasped at what was in the container.

"You… I thought we had gotten rid of them? How have you…"

"Quark managed to stow one away… One became three, three became-"

"Okay okay I get it… You need to stop them… How many have we got to deal with?"

"Well assuming that the ones that were sold by Quark haven't multiplied, possible about twelve… if they have multiplied then thousands… we didn't want to make a fuss but-"

"Make a fuss? We're being taken over and you didn't want to make a fuss?"

Bashir noticeably shrank and busied himself with a console, maybe if he kept busy Sisko would not pin this on him. Sisko looked into the case and frowned, growling low in his throat. He didn't mind other peoples ships being overrun, but not his own. Not his station.

"Tribbles."

**~*~**

**A little later…**

"Quark, a word please?"

Quark started so hard he dropped the glass he was holding, he scurried down to the floor to clear it up but Sisko pulled him back to his feet by his lobes and plonked him down onto a bar stool. He was laughing nervously but Sisko didn't even smile. Next to him stood Whorf who, despite trying to look confident was secretly looking round at everyone, at every crevice of the bar for the dreaded creatures, not only were they a mortal enemy, they were disgusting in his opinion.

"You have been doing a… How was it described? A _roaring_ trade in Tribbles I believe?" Sisko folded his arms and looked tall. Around them bar goers secretly glanced over to them but daren't hold a gaze in case they too were thrown under the spotlight.

"I may have sold a couple of animals here and there but nothing too spectacular…" Quark fondled with a loose thread on his shirt and didn't meet the Captains intense gaze. Inside his jacket a Tribble was purring and vibrating, it tickled but he couldn't release it, that would just be the icing on the cake.

"Do you know how Tribbles reproduce?" Without waiting for an answer Sisko continued, leaning over the Ferengi. "They eat and then one becomes three, then those three eat and become fifty… Do you understand where I'm coming from?"

Quark nodded.

"Good… Now I want you to approach everyone you sold Tribbles to and get them back, reimburse their money if needs be but make sure you get every last Tribble."

"Uh… there may be a slight problem with that…"

"How so?"

"Well asides from me spending all the proceeds on another case of ale… I can't remember everyone, there were too many of them."

Sisko sighed and deflated, standing back from the Ferengi, resisting the urge to floor him. Whorf stormed out, he couldn't stand Quark at the best of times, least of all when he was threatening the Klingon Empire once more. He was headed for sickbay, maybe Doctor Bashir had found a way to euthanize the entire population.

"Captain, Whorf two visits in one day?"

"We're not here for pleasantries Doctor we need to know what you've found."

"Well, they're prolific little buggers… But I can't seem to locate their reproductive organs to sterilise them."

"Sterilise?"

"Yes sterilise… If I can find a way to stop them multiplying we can save the station without killing them."

Whorf looked fit to explode but he wasn't about to give them the satisfaction. He watched with interest as Bashir carefully extracted a Tribble from the chamber and scanned it, gently cooing to it as the Tribble seemed to purr and move with excitement. Bashir replaced the Tribble and checked his scanner.

"No change, I'm sorry you'll have to come back later."

Whorf felt anger build within him, he couldn't stand the way the Doctor poured over the creatures, treating them with such respect and affection.

"Captain I request permission to be excused?"

"Excused?"

"I can't stand being around these creatures, they're disgusting and a hazard to my health."

Bashir laughed and picked another of the furry creatures up, handing it to his Captain, who reluctantly accepted it. It purred and vibrated making Sisko smile and stroke its coat gently. Bashir looked once at Whorf before the Klingon exploded with a rage.

Although he didn't show it outwardly, Whorf was so angry he could've smashed the entire station to pieces. Instead he left the two humans to it and headed for Defiant, maybe he could get some peace there. After all nobody had entered the ship for two days according to the logs, there was no chance anything else could be in there.

**~*~**

**That Evening…**

Whorf was refusing to leave the safety of the Defiant, after all Captain Sisko had been won over and wouldn't authorise a mass execution of the invaders. Whorf settled in the captain's chair and opened the ration pack he had found in the emergency supply box. He would replace it later.

"Sisko to the Defiant, Whorf open the door now!"

Whorf refused to answer and opened the ration pack, savouring the scent of the meat contained within. Sisko persisted with him com messages and Whorf stood to reply placing the tray on the floor beside the chair.

"Whorf here, captain with all respect this is to preserve my health. The Defiant is not scheduled for use for another five days."

Sisko paused, he was right but now they would have to go over the after launch procedure again to make sure everything was in place.

"Whorf, you can't hide in there forever. It is cowardice!"

"Cowardice?" Whorf was angry again and slammed himself down into the chair again, maybe he would displace it and make Sisko's command uncomfortable. He reached down without looking and retrieved the ration pack, it felt a little heavier but perhaps the gravity plating was set incorrectly. Whorf grumbled and looked down at his dinner.

"Arg!"

Whorf threw the rations against the bulkhead as hard as he could and ran for the door. While he had been speaking to Sisko a Tribble had somehow manage to feast on the entire pack, multiplied and now Tribbles covered the rations and now the Captains chair.

Whorf shot out of the Defiant careering past Sisko who was partially knocked off of his feet. Enough was enough, and this had given Sisko an idea…

**Later…**

Eventually with the help of Doctor Bashir and numerous Ensigns armed with tricorders, all of the Tribbles had been confined to the Defiant. Whorf finally came out of hiding, coaxed out by a huge rack of alien ribs and promise of a free Holodeck sparring session.

Whorf sat halfway through the ribs watching the comings and goings of Quark's. That was until a group of visitors entered, they were obviously Bajoran. Confidently they approached the bar, ordered a round of drinks and sat at a table close to Whorf's. Whorf looked over casually and noticed one of them had an interesting set of hand warmers. He looked closer and to his horror realised they were not in fact hand warmers.

"Tribbles."


End file.
